Cautionary tales of domestic violence

STOCKTON - Jennifer Bushnell explained away her isolation and the bruises on her body.

Jennie Rodriguez-Moore

STOCKTON - Jennifer Bushnell explained away her isolation and the bruises on her body.

Then, it was too late to break her silence. And the abuse she endured from boyfriend David Bernel boiled over to the end of her life at a Flag City gas station.

"She was killed Feb. 20 (2007)," said her mother, Angie Gillum.

Bushnell's tragic story is one of several that will be told at an outreach event today at University of the Pacific to educate people, especially youth, about the danger of domestic violence. The event is open to the public.

"If we can stop someone from even getting into a domestic violence situation, so they can heed the warning signs, that would be great," said Suzanne Schultz, supervising program coordinator of the San Joaquin County Family Crimes Unit.

Dating and domestic violence is prevalent even among adolescents. One in five high school students experience physical dating violence and three out of five experience verbal abuse from their significant other, Schultz said.

Real life local stories such as Bushnell's are part of a film titled "Love you to Death," which Schultz will show to bring the problem close to home.

The video includes explicit footage, including surveillance shots from the gas station of 29-year-old Bushnell exiting a vehicle bleeding and Bernel gunning her down.

The two were on their way from Selma in Fresno County to Gillum's home in Garberville when they stopped in Flag City.

Bernel, now 33, was found guilty in 2009 by a jury in San Joaquin County. He was sentenced to 80 years in state prison for the murder.

Gillum said her daughter had exhibited signs that something was wrong in her relationship with Bernel, but she denied he harmed her.

Once Bushnell moved in with Bernel in the Fresno area, the contact with her family became much less frequent, Gillum said.

She explained away bruises with lies. Her family's phone calls started going directly to voice mail. Bernel had isolated her, which Schultz said perpetrators often do to gain control.

On one occasion, a SWAT team showed up to her home on a report of a man holding his girlfriend at gunpoint. Bushnell came out denying the report made by Bernel's mother.

"I was not aware of the abuse," Gillum said. "But I knew we could not get ahold of her."

Later she learned Bernel had taken her daughter's cellphone.

It's still emotionally tough for Gillum to address the issue in public, but she hopes the account is enough to impact the choices of those listening.

"Even if one kid got something out of it, it was worth it," Gillum said. "You don't want your parents to go through what I'm going through."

She hopes friends and loved ones of victims will be affected.

"It's OK to be a tattle tale because you're saving someone's life," Gillum said. "See the warning signs and say something. Don't turn your face away and pretend you didn't just see what you saw."

Schultz shared other warning signs that a perpetrator displays leading up to physical abuse:

» Telling you how to dress;

» Telling you who you can hang out with;

» Is possessive of your time and gets upset if you spend time with family or friends;

» If you go somewhere against their wishes, they continuously call or text or show up where you are. "They just can't stand that you're doing something without them," Schultz said.

» Verbal abuse and name-calling.

Today's event is co-sponsored by the university as one of Pacific's "Enough is Enough" events, a weeklong program that aims to curb sexual assault and violence among college students.